Low Volume Plus Plans

Does anyone else feel like there is a gap between the LV and MV plans. I started with TR this winter and was looking for 4 workouts a week. I figured I would do the MV plans and just drop the Wednesday aerobic workout but I found the intensity of the weekend rides was too high for me, and the Sunday rides are generally too long (age, family, etc, etc). What I am after is the exact same workouts as the LV plans with an additional 1 hour workout on the Sunday. I figure the easiest way for TR to do this, instead of creating a new set of plans, is to just add an optional 1 hour workout to all the LV plans. Oh and if they could please start with General Build, since that’s what I am currently on, that would be great. :slight_smile:

If the above is a bit of a tall order, what type of workout would be a good option if I wanted to supplement the LV week with an additional 1 hour ride. I assume it would differ depending on the plan so let’s say for General Build what would be a good option?

2 Likes

You can look at the MV plan and add one of the easy or moderate rides in the corresponding weeks.

3 Likes

Why don’t you just do this yourself ? I think that the training plans should just be looked as a good basis for a training plan. I would drop the lv training plan on my calendar and then add in the optional workout that you talk about, I think it’s the great features on TR that you can adjust the training plan for your needs in advance

3 Likes

That is kinda where I was headed and then I starting over-thinking. I want the best bang for buck out of this extra hour, should it be Sweet Spot, Threshold, VO2Max…? And naturally I would prefer Chad to be selecting the workout over me doing it myself.

1 Like

The Sunday workout from MV, or the Wednesday one if you want less stress. A shorter bariant if you’d like.

1 Like

I’m trying to figure this out, myself. In a conversation w/ Nate, you can go with MV and Drop the Thursday ride as well.

2 Likes

I’ve been doing the lv + Wednesday mv workout and it’s worked well. (SSB 1&2 and short power build so far.)

I did lv last year but felt I could carry more stress this year. I just don’t have the time to commit to mv on Sunday.

I’m sure doing the mv Wednesday but on Sundays instead would also work. That said you may be able to do something a bit harder on Sunday if you follow the defeault Monday rest day schedule. (I feel that there’s two incremental increases between lv and mv.)

1 Like

I’m currently doing LV plan because I work midnight 12 hours shifts on a rotating schedule. When I was assigned to a day shift last year, it was a bit easier to get the workouts in but I’m experimenting with timing my workouts now with the new schedule. I’m adding an outdoor ride or Pettit each week to give myself the extra day of saddle time. That equates to 4 days a week, plus one day for strength training. I’ve also added walking and running to my training weeks just to incorporate better overall fitness.

I completed MV plans last year (my first year with structured training) and did well for the first half of the year but I started to unravel during the specialty phase. I changed a few things in my routine which had adverse effects on my ability to complete the workouts and thus, I just stopped doing the Sunday endurance rides or subbed them with Pettit. For my circumstance it seemed to work well and also gave me new information on how to plan my training this year.

Oh, I should also say I prefer the +1 version of the mv Wednesday workout just to throw in some sprints.

1 Like

I think in general, if you have time to do the length of the mid volume workouts (up to 2 hours), you should just drop the Zone 2 ride.
If you only have time for 60-90 minute rides, you should do low volume and supplement with extra rides that work based on your goals and level of fatigue.

1 Like

Just starting GB LV. My plan is to simply add Baxter -2 on Wednesdays. I think it shouldn’t stress me so much that I start to fail the Thursday workout.

I basically do LV, skip the 1hr z2 ride from MV plan, then add in a shorter (60-75min) version of the other extra MV plan ride (or find a 60-75min similar to it).

1 Like

Sounds like I’m in v similar place to original poster. Want 4 rides a week but time per day is limited. Can usually manage 1x90min ride a week but rest 60-75. I find put LV plan in calender, then look at MV plan and add another (shorter version usually) of other ‘hard ride’ from MV plan. Calender makes it so easy!

1 Like

You may want to consider just progressing through the LV plans a bit quicker than suggested, although this may not work for everyone. What i do is do the low volume plans but do more than 3 workouts per week if recovery and life allow. So i probably average 3.5 - 4 TR workouts a week versus 3. My outside rides are almost exclusively mountain biking, so as weather and trail conditions permit, i also work those in. This has been manageable and worked well for me. I’ve completed SSB1/2 and the first half of short power build. Once i finish short power build, I’m planning to extend the build versus going to specialty by following with SSB2 and then another build cycle. And then move on to specialty. FTP is up from 224 when i started SSB in October to 286. Ramp test tomorrow and i expect a decent bump considering how my workouts have been going, so stepping through the plans a bit quicker seems to be working for me.

1 Like